No more community grants for Bannockburn

BANNOCKBURN and District Grants has handed out its last local funding allocation, and has officially closed.

A grant of $500 was given to the Inverleigh Flower Show late last month and was soon followed by a post on the group’s Facebook page on 1 July.

“It’s with much sadness Bannockburn District Grants (BDG) will no longer exist given our funding from the Bendigo Bank has ceased and our funds have been exhausted,” the post said.

The news comes as a further blow to the town, already reeling from the recent announcement that the local Bendigo Bank branch will close in late September.

Since it was formed in 2008, BDG – run by a volunteer board – has distributed more than $850,000 in over 250 grants.

BDG president John O’Shannassy said the group was told at the end of last year that it would no longer receive money to distribute locally.

He said the bank had shifted its focus to fund local groups and projects through Benefit Geelong, which it is also associated with.

“What they’ve told us is that customers can link their accounts with Benefit Geelong and Bendigo Bank will donate their money…to Benefit Geelong rather than giving it to Bannockburn and District Grants,” Mr O’Shannassy said.

He said he was aware of other grants programs – for example in Ocean Grove and Queenscliff – also being consolidated into Benefit Geelong.

“They want to have one centralised grants program for Geelong and the area, being Benefit Geelong,” Mr O’Shannassy said.

He said it was understood that the consolidation was not necessarily connected with the closure of the local branch.

In a statement, BDG said the first grant it had allocated was $5000 for the Teesdale Turtle Bend Project for a dry stone wall.

It said among the grants it had made was major seed funding of $100,000 for the Bannockburn Youth Hub.

“This hub provides a dedicated space for young people aged 12 to 15 from across Golden Plains Shire,” it said.

“This wonderful effort has been facilitated by the bank customers who willingly linked their accounts to help the community, and we acknowledge the Bannockburn branch managers and staff who have supported the board of Bannockburn and District Grants.”

Mr O’Shannassy said Benefit Geelong was a similar organisation to BDG and covered about eight Bendigo Bank branches in the region.

He said applications for grants would now have to be submitted through that organisation’s website.

The move was disappointing, he said, because the locally-focused grants helped small groups gain equipment or similar items they otherwise might not have been able to afford.

He said many local groups may now miss out on funding for those “bricks and mortar” kinds of things.

A Bendigo Bank spokesperson said the bank’s Connected Communities program was “retired” in February after a review.

“The bank reviews all parts of its business regularly in order to ensure both its operations and its contributions to communities are sustainable,” the spokesperson said.

“Bendigo Bank’s Community Enterprise Foundation, the bank’s charitable arm, and Benefit Geelong are supporting Connected Communities in the region impacted by the change with the dispersal of the remaining unallocated funds where required.”

The spokesperson said the changes would “amplify impact and enable a more targeted approach”.